Keep winning, and no one will care about all the wild celebrations in Charlotte. After all, Super Bowl champs get to say what they want.

During an unforgettable fall, the Carolina Panthers went on a roller-coaster ride, balancing thoughts of an unbeaten season with steps along the precipice while trying to give away a fourth-quarter lead seemingly every other week. It made for entertaining television, and plenty of discussion.

Along the way, the team’s players and their fans said they weren’t respected, a statement that draws both nods of confirmation and eyerolls.
After all, regular-season wins are gaudy and fun. The Panthers got 14 of them in a row, which garnered them more attention than they’ve had since their Super Bowl run just over a decade ago. That’s great. But the Panthers haven’t won much since then, and in the NFL (and all sports, really), it’s all about the rings.

So to be the picture-taking, trash-talking team with nothing outside of a division title in the weakest grouping in the NFC was doubly troubling to folks outside of Charlotte. The Panthers were criticized, poked and prodded. Perhaps rightly, perhaps wrongly, but that’s the way sports works.

The only response was to keep winning, which they have. After Sunday’s win vs. Seattle, the criticism has slowed some. Win again, and it will slow more. Win a Super Bowl? Well, I think we know how that works.

Is this Carolina team one of the greatest teams in NFL history? Certainly not. Would it get run off the field by some of the best teams in the past five years?

I think it might. But in this year, with more injured stars than ever and competitive balance thrown out of whack, the Panthers just might be the best.
And that is all that matters. The Lombardi Trophies doesn’t come on a graded scale. Be the best of your year, take home the glory forever. Ask Drew Brees about that. Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson, too. If those guys can win one, these Panthers certainly can.

UNCW Hoops

There’s six home games left for a men’s basketball team that has a legitimate chance of winning the CAA. It’s fun, entertaining basketball (although a few less fouls would be great, fellas).

UNCW’s breakthrough last season resulted in a sellout and a near sellout down the stretch. With homecoming still to be played and two huge games near the end of the season, hopefully more fans will see in person the last month at Trask and a conference tournament in Baltimore that will be one of the best in the country for excitement and unpredictability.

Chris Flemmings was named co-player of the week this week in the CAA. Remember, he’s a walk-on who played at Division II Barton two years ago. He’s really only getting minutes after Jarvis Haywood — a player in the same position with a better playing reputation — committed team rules violations and left school.

That’s how big things happen sometimes. You get your break, and you take it.

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About This Blog

Howdy. I’m sports editor Dan Spears, and I keep everything straightened up around here — with thoughts on pretty much anything to do with sports, both locally and nationally. I’ve been with the StarNews since August 2006, and sports editor since September 2008. I’m a big college basketball fan and have been to the first weekend of the NCAAs every year since 1997, either as a fan or a writer. I attempt to play golf, run marathons and play volleyball here in town at Capt’n Bill’s on Market Street. Enjoy reading, and let me know what you’re thinking … Dan